By: Daman Singh, Jocelyn Hadford, Ramiro Bustamante Torres, Ansharah Shakil, Dylan Carrasco, Valery Perez, Leonie O'Sullivan, Sheroog Kubur and Dianne Miranda, November 23 2023—
November is the midterm season. Late-night study sessions, caffeine-fuelled marathons and the light at the end of the tunnel – a well-deserved break. Here is the Gauntlet Mixtape Vol. 20: Soundtrack to University Life to romanticize your university life as a means to survive this thrilling yet nerve-wracking journey of madness that is academia.
DAMAN: VISUALS EDITOR
- “Heart Out” by The 1975
- You've just put your docs on and have decided to stomp down the hallways.
- “your clothes” by Jane Remover
- Sometimes all you need is some digital noise to zone out the slow walkers in the tunnels.
- “Change of the Season” by The Hi Tops
- Local Calgary icons to make your day good.
JOCELYN: VOLUNTEER
- “Oxford Comma” by Vampire Weekend
- Who cares about an Oxford comma? Me and my homies write CP style.
- “You’re Gonna Go Far” by Noah Kahan
- For when you're homesick and losing motivation.
- “ballad of a homeschooled girl” by Olivia Rodrigo
- When the campus social anxiety is taking over.
RAMIRO: LAYOUT EDITOR
- “Rip & Tear” by Mick Gordon
- Nothing gets me through math like the soundtrack of a videogame where you're fighting for your life.
- “Sinnerman” by Nina Simone
- Miss Simone reminds me I cannot hide anywhere when I need to repent and finish an assignment.
- “Violin Partita no. 3 in E major: Prelude” by J.S. Bach played by Hilary Hahn
- Sometimes you have to romanticize your degree to get through it, especially if there's some course you would rather not take but they're part of your requirements.
ANSHARAH: ARTS & SCIENCE EDITOR
- “Hard to Explain” by The Strokes
- "I'll miss the last bus, I'll take the next train" is the best attitude to have when you're late to class.
- “Headphones Baby” by The Vaccines
- This is the perfect song to block out everything else when you're walking around campus with your headphones in.
- “Blue Monday” by New Order
- The best song for Mondays.
DYLAN: VOLUNTEER
- “I Believe” by Caroline Polachek
- The pumping synths of this song help re-energize my fried brain and makes me feel like I can conquer the day as I sing along, telling myself "I believe."
- “It's Okay To Cry” by SOPHIE
- The pressure to be an "academic weapon" and "stay on that grind" can be a lot, so this song is for allowing yourself a few minutes of release.
- “Space 1” by Nala Sinephro
- Peaceful ambient music not only helps calm the chaos in my head, but also helps with those countless assigned readings.
VALERY: OPINIONS & HUMOUR EDITOR
- “Mr. Fox in the Fields” by Alexandre Desplat
- The symphonies in this song give me so much serotonin in such dark times.
- “The Shire” by Howard Shore
- I'm a big LOTR fan and it's the only thing that still gives me a will to live during these hard academic times.
- “Dawn - From ‘Pride & Prejudice’ Soundtrack” by Dario Marianelli, Jean-Yves Thibaudet
- By this point, you guys can probably tell that I rely heavily on nostalgia to carry me through.
LEONIE: ARTS & SCIENCE ASSISTANT
- “Star” by Oliver Tree
- This song provides some much-needed mid-semester reassurance. Just imagine he is singing it to you (lol).
- “Out Of The Woods (Taylor's Version)” by Taylor Swift
- The lyrics "Are we out of the woods? Are we in the clear yet?" A perfect analogy for getting through midterms.
- “Getaway Car” by Taylor Swift
- Fantasize about leaving all your problems and exams behind in a getaway car.
SHEROOG: SUMMER CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
- “Hard Out Here.” by Raye
- Raye was right. It is hard out here but we will bounce back.
- “Outta My Mind” by cholothagod
- I am mildly out of my mind during this time of year but I still have time to have fun.
- “Time Is Running Out” by Muse
- Even thought it may feel like your time is running out, you still have enough time to bump this banger.
DIANNE: VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
- “Knucklehead/ Happy Rain” by Jeffrey Lewis
- The perfect repetition of chords and the background noise of rain somehow switches my brain to turn into reading mode.
- “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” by Deftones
- Indeed please let me get what I want—to understand the content and pass.
- “Hasta la Raiz” by Natalia Lafourcade
- I struggle studying with music so classical music or songs in a language I do not understand are my go-tos. This song especially gives the emotion that I am indeed flying away from something (studying) and that these late-night studying are one of the things I am going through that can only make me stronger.
